JOIN USEducation is the first step towards social equality, reminded Professor Niranjan Aradhya V P.
"Education enables an individual to validate the Constitutional values. Hence upholding them and ensuring equality and justice in the society must be the aim of the education system. Only then would the creation of an able and aware society be possible," said the educationist.
He was delivering a talk on 'Present Scenario of Education System in India: Prospects and Challenges' at Alva's Nudisiri 2017 on Saturday.
"The education system was expected to be a pioneer of social well-being. But privatisation and modernisation, combined with English imperialism have turned the system into a market-driven entity," he said and added that this system is failing in providing free and fair education to all. "Oxford, Cambridge, CBSE, English medium schools, deemed universities, government schools, and the variety of education systems have all glorified the education system, but each of them has failed in providing justice to the purpose of education," he opined.
Elaborating on the condition of schools in India, Niranjan Aradhya said, "The school system in Karnataka has reached a position of extreme jeopardy. People are losing faith in government schools today. All we can hear is that they neither provide quality education nor ensure a safe future for the students. Consequentially, government Kannada medium schools are shutting down, marking the downfall of Kannada as a whole."
Speaking further, he said, forced installation of English and Western culture at a very young age is depriving students of their interests as well as opportunities to comprehend and respect Kannada heritage. "The increase in the number of English medium schools in the state is evidence for this. There were 47,670 Kannada medium schools in Karnataka in 2010-11, but the number has fallen to 43,895 in 2017. Private English medium schools have risen from 10,215 to 13,438 in the period. So is the government of Karnataka merely focusing on privatisation?" he asked.
"If government schools fail to inculcate value-based education in students, isn't the government doing an injustice to the Constitution? Well-furnished schools, competent teachers, electricity, pure drinking water, playgrounds, and libraries are absolutely necessary. However, only 10% of government schools in Karnataka possess such facilities. Clearly, this is cause for the steady downfall of the education system in Karnataka," he validated.
"Education is not just about transferring technical information. It must be an embodiment of knowledge through ethical and competent means. If the Karnataka government works to make the education system more competent, only then would the system sustain any further," he concluded.
President of Alva's Nudisiri Nagatihalli Chandrashekar and convenor Dr M Mohan Alva were present.
Introspection
Dr Nityananda B Shetty from Mysore University spoke on the subject 'Mass Media-Grounds for Self-Introspection.'
"People who do not have direct access to truth rely on other forms of media for access to content. The form of media in the contemporary scenario is largely visual media. However, visual media has resorted to manufacturing truth and consent. The trend of 'mediatisation' is making people believe what the channels want them to. They seem to be in an illusion that they are 'Sarvajnas' (know-it-all). The entity that introspects and criticizes the country's aspects is in dire need of introspection," said the professor.
Elaborating the prospects for self-introspection in newspaper media, Dr Niranjan Vanalli from Mysore University said, "Tabloid journalism had once posed a threat to mainstream media. Now, however, mainstream media itself has turned into tabloids. No one apparently has the sensitivity to filter out the wrong news. Gate-keeping ideology and conscience orientation are lacking in newspapers today. It is impossible to build a society with such destructive ideals."